i am wanting to find out a little about goats as i would like to get two of the
i would want them to both be wethers no need for a female as i don't want milk just wanted them to be around for the fun of it. anyone have any suggestions i was thinking maybe a pygmy style goat not sure any suggestions or comment would be welcome.
thanks hope to talk soon
Kevin

I was thinking about getting some goats a while back but for a different reason. The idea being a few goats hanging around could relieve my Cub Cadet from mowing chores!
I got the idea from a farmer down the road who has a herd of those pygmy goats grazing in his big front lawn which always looks mowed and i'll bet well fertilized also.
At any rate, good question!
-Ken

Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy - The Eagles

Talk to Johnny aka Jostev Stevenson... his family has goats.. and sheep... very nice goats and sheep too. When Em and I stopped by to visit, we were welcomed to the property by a very nice family of goats. Made us wish for our goats again.... they are a lot of fun.. a lot of work, but they can be enjoyable.

Let me warn you though.. Johnny is in charge of feeding the herd, so he may not wax as contentedly about the joys of goats as others may....

Kevin wrote:they would have an area fenced in to keep them for most of the timestill interested have read alot about them wanted to know a little more from someone who had them alreadythanksKevin

Hi Kevin, we have a couple goats now, Veronica and Betty. They can be a lot of fun and work. As for two goats keeping lawns mowed, not likely; they are browsers, so a little of this and a little of that is what they eat. Although, if you have an orchard, they love to eat leaves and will destroy an garden/orchard if given the chance -- so fence them well.

One tip that I did not get until we got our two -- I wish I had known before -- was to get 3 goats. They definitely need company, and if you ever lose one goat, the other will not be happy and will make you very unhappy in the process. With a third goat, that would not be an immediate issue... Now I hope both ours live for a long time

any specific breed of goat you like better like full size or pygmy or specific breed. what all do they eat is there regular goat feed or do they eat the sweet feed a horse eats.the area i have is some grass and some bushes and won't matter what they do there as its the back corner of my property close to a swampy area.
thanks again
Kevin

Hey Kevin, we are in the same boat right now. There is a great farm we go to periodically and they sell their wethers for $50. Our 2 small children, 1 and 3, just love the goats at the farm so we are thinking about it. They have all different kinds, but mostly are the Nigerian Pygmy's and African dwarfs. They also have Nubian's but usually those end up bigger than what we are looking for.

What we have learned mostly came from a book called Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats. This was recommended to us and although we don't have plans for dairy goats, there is good info for any type of goat owner.

We have decided to adopt in the spring as opposed to the fall, thinking that we will be able to spend more time with the young goats in the spring/summer, as opposed to the winter when they will be in their house mostly and we won't be out there as much in the cold. They will basically be pets, so we want to have the time when they are young to adapt them to being around our kids etc.

HI KEVIN--PYGMYS ARE VERY EASY TO RAISE & ARE GENTLE AS ARE MOST GOATS-WE RAISED TENNESSEE FAINTING GOATS { NO ITS NOT A JOKE} INFO ON THEM CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET--MY WIFE GOT US STARTED ON THEM 20 YEARS AGO & SHE PASSED AWAY IN 1994-- WE HAD 2 BOYS 8&10 SO I WAS BUSY WITH TOO MANY THINGS TO STAY REAL INVOLVED WITH THE GOATS BUT, LIKE I SAID BEFORE-WE HAD 23 AT TOPS!! SHEN KIDS WENT AWAY TO COLLEGE-HERD HAD TO DROP DRASTICALY!--I ALWAYS FED WITH PELLETIZED GOAT FEEDRATHER THAN GROUND FEED - HOLDS UP BETTER IF IT GETS DAMP&STORES BETTERGOAT FEED SHOULD BE AVAILABLE AT MOST COOPS& MAYBE A TRACTOR SUPPLY--I AWS TOLD HORSE FEED WAS TOO HIGH IN PROTEIN---SEE YA BILL

I had goats at two points in time. Yup they do get onto places they shouldn't. They will jump from one car to the next until they can get to the next highest place and then ultimately wind up on top of the animal shed.
The males stink pretty badly unless fixed. My farm was a goat farm for a long time. Now we have sheep. They are friendly, less mischief, and the males don't smell (they will ram you, though).

We had a wether that grew to be a little larger than the pygmy he was supposed to be. Was meant to keep her single horse company until we later bought a second horse. Ours was just fed hay, alfalfa, and a little grain now and then. The maintenance was occassionally trimming hooves. He did have the run of the place and would eat flowers and shrubs. Also would butt which would hurt if you didn't watch out (usually got you in the shin. Lost him last fall after 21 years, so take that into account also.

As for the feed, feed formulated for goats is what you need. DON'T feed your goats feed formulated for another specie. Each specie's nutritional requirements are different. One year we had a new 4-H member bring both a pig and lamb to the county fair. The lamb was several months old and no bigger the a Miniture Schnauzer dog. The hog was fine. Turned out, in the interest of economy, the lamb was fed the same feed as the hog. Hog feed is much higher in copper than what sheep can tolerate. What was fine for the hog was TOXIC to the lamb. So, feed the goats, goat feed.

I think if you want them around kids. The goats need to be around and handled by people from birth. I had three pygmy in a dog kennel they would run out knock my five year old niece over then run back to their coop. Make sure the kennel is strong my billy liked sharpening his horns on the fence. I gave up after a year and a half. Made great like beef tips and noodles.

Billy

Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you. 1964 cub. Farmall 100 and 130.

"Those that say it can’t be done should not interrupt the ones who are doing it.”